Jeb Hensarling

Infobox_Congressman
name = Jeb Hensarling


date of birth = birth date and age|1957|05|29
place of birth = Stephenville, Texas
state = Texas
district = 5th
term = 2003–present
preceded = Pete Sessions
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Republican
spouse = Melissa Hensarling
religion = Episcopalian
alma_mater= Texas A&M University, University of Texas
occupation= attorney
residence= Dallas, Texas

Jeb Hensarling (born May 29, 1957) has been the Republican congressman representing Texas' 5th congressional district ( [http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/tx05_109.gifmap] ) in the United States House of Representatives since 2003.

Early life

Hensarling was born in Stephenville, Texas, and grew up on the family farm in College Station. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 1982, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also an Eagle Scout.

Political career

Prior to serving in Congress, Hensarling was State Director for Texas Senator Phil Gramm from 1985 until 1989. From 1991 to 1993, he served as executive director of the Republican Senatorial Committee.

Hensarling next served as a vice president at two different companies before becoming owner of San Jacinto Ventures in 1996 and CEO of Family Support Assurance Corporation in 2001. He continues to hold both positions. He served as vice president of Green Mountain Energy from 1999 to 2001.

Hensarling was elected to his first term in 2002, defeating Democratic opponent Ron Chapman with 58 percent of the vote. He was reelected in 2004 with 64 percent of the vote over Democratic challenger Bill Bernstein.

Hensarling is a member of the House Budget and Financial Services Committees.

A December 31, 2005 article in "National Review" profiled his work as the country's "budget nanny", saying that he has replaced his mentor, former Senator Phil Gramm, in this role. Hensarling's proposed legislation is said to intend to force Congress to "decide how much money they can afford to spend, and then prioritize within those limits." The article says that "the chief problem with any proposal to reform the budget process is that it excites almost nobody."

Hensarling was elected chairman of the Republican Study Committee following the 2006 Congressional elections, defeating Todd Tiahrt.

Voting record

Hensarling has maintained a conservative voting record: he has consistently voted against abortion rights, stem cell research, same-sex marriage and hate crimes legislation, and consistently supported free trade policies, the PATRIOT Act, and a Constitutional amendment against flag burning [ [http://www.ontheissues.org/TX/Jeb_Hensarling.htm Jeb Hensarling on the Issues ] ] . He is a vocal supporter of "protecting the family budget from the federal budget". Fact|date=May 2008

Hensarling serves on the House Committee on the Budget and the House Committee on Financial Services, in which position the Dallas Morning News has described him as a “rising congressional star” and a “man of conviction” Fact|date=May 2008, and the New York Times has described him as a “conservative leader.”Fact|date=May 2008 According to the National Taxpayer Union, Hensarling scored the highest pro-taxpayer rating in the Texas delegation, and the second highest in the entire U.S. House of Representatives.

An opponent of waste in government, Hensarling co-authored a Constitutional amendment (known as the Spending Limit Amendment) that would prohibit federal spending from growing faster than the economy.

Hensarling has continually pushed Congress to enact a one-year moratorium on all Congressional earmarks, saying that the process needs to be overhauled. In 2007, he introduced the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. He also co-authored the Taxpayer Choice Act.

2008

Hensarling has been mentioned as a possible candidate for House GOP leadership, as well as a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate from Texas in 2010. Fact|date=May 2008

In January 2008, Hensarling co-authored the Economic Growth Act of 2008.

In May 2008, Hensarling pressed the Republican party leadership in the House to agree to a special session to give lawmakers to air their views on a new policy platform and share ideas on how to define themselves to better advantage going into the 2008 election. Fact|date=May 2008

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/hensarling/ U.S. Representative Jeb Hensarling Lee] official House site
** [http://kaygranger.house.gov/News.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=258/ USS Fort Worth Campaign]
*
* [http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/can_detail/H2TX05121 Federal Election Commission — Mr. Jeb Hensarling] campaign finance reports and data
* [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?CID=N00024922 OpenSecrets.org — Jeb Hensarling] campaign contributions
* [http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=MTX64734 Project Vote Smart — Representative Jeb Hensarling (TX)] profile
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jeb_Hensarling SourceWatch Congresspedia — Jeb Hensarling] profile
* [http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/h001036/ Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Jeb Hensarling] voting record
* [http://www.jebhensarling.com/ Jeb Hensarling for U.S. Congress] official campaign site
* [http://clerk.house.gov/members/electionInfo/elections.html Election Information — U.S. House Office of the Clerk]
* [http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/120706/hensarling.html Article describing his victory as chairman of the RSC]